Tag: lens review

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 Lens

Matthew Osborne Photography / Mr Leica

February 2018

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 Lens

To follow my Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f2.8 lens blog post I thought I would do the same for the Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 lens. It is probably not the first 50mm lens people lust after or go out to buy but for me it ticks a few boxes on my wish list. Is it small and compact with a 39mm filter thread? Yes. Does it balance nicely on my Leica M3 film camera? Yes. It is sharp wide open and produces pleasing images? Yes. That was all I needed to purchase the little Summarit-M 50mm. (It is not to be confused with the old Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5 lens as this is a different lens completely. I also have the 50mm f1.5 version and it gives the classic Leica glow look (and is also a very nice lens)).

Leica Summarit-M vs. Leica Summicron vs. Leica Summilux ASPH

I own and use quite a few different Leica 50mm lens, each giving their own characteristics to an image and each having it’s place. I compare here the three most similar lenses in terms of approximate age and ‘normal’ use. (I excluded the older Leica Summarit 50mm, Leica Summicron 50mm DR version, Leica Elmar 50mm f2.8 lenses and the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 lens which is different to all these 50mm lenses). So of the three 50mm lenses mentioned in the title The Leica Summarit-M is the smallest (and slowest at f2.5), the Leica Summicron 50mm f2 v5 is inbetween and the Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH is the largest and fastest.

So of these lenses which do I use the most? Of all the 50mm lenses I own I think the Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH is used for perhaps 75-85% of the images, especially for digital. For film if there is enough light I now use the Leica Summarit-M also. The Leica Summicron v5 gets very little use. I like the size of the Summicron and the built in hood but it flares easily. The Summilux ASPH is one stop faster and doesn’t flare as much so is the lens I carry when I need to rely on 50mm lens for clean sharp images. The Summarit-M is the newest addition of my 50mm lenses and I bought it for two reasons; one to use on Leica M film cameras as I like the small size and two, if I need to travel very lightweight and there is lots of available light. A perfect example of this was when I did my cycling trip in Fuertventura. I wanted to travel light and I was stopping lenses down so the Summarit-M was the perfect travel lens (to cover 50mm). I think from my experience and my copies of the lenses the Summilux ASPH and Summarit-M both give very modern looking images in how they render a scene. The Summicron is slightly softer but not as soft or as much glow as the older Leica 50mm lenses.

Visual size comparison of the three mentioned 50mm lenses

Left: Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5

Centre: Leica Summicron 50mm f2 v5

Right: Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH

(*Sorry for the dust on the lenses!)

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 Lens – On the Digital Leica M240

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 Lens – On Leica Film Cameras

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 Lens – Film Landscape

Recommend!

I really like the little Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5 lens and it is definitely a keeper. If you don’t need the speed of a Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH lens the Summarit-M 50 is a great choice if you like the modern look (verses the classic look achieved with a lot of the older Leica lenses).

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 lens

Matthew Osborne Photography / Mr Leica

January 2018

“LEICA’s biggest secret – It’s LEICA’s smallest and lightest 90mm bayonet-mount lens ever made, and it also is among LEICA’s very highest-performance 90mm lenses of all time….”

(Ken Rockwell)(Link below)

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – why I wanted this lens

After my first cycling-photography adventure to Fuertventura I wished I had owned a compact telephoto lens. My existing Leica telephoto lenses are not compact and are on the whole quite heavy. I have a Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO lens and a Leica Summicron 90mm f2 Pre-ASPH lens. Both Summicron lenses are fast (f2) so are relatively big and heavy (in Leica lens terms) due to all the glass elements inside. I also own a chrome 1960’s Leica Elmar 135mm f4 lens. The 135f4 is lightweight but I use it less than the Summicron lenses as I find it a bit soft shot at f4-f5.6. This is potentially due to misfocus issues if my Leica M240 is not exactly calibrated with the 135mm lens. For my next cycling adventure I thought I for landscape photography (and general snaps of things I saw on my travels) I didn’t need a fast lens such as a Leica Summicron lens with an f2 maximum aperture, nor even a Summarit with an f2.5 maximum aperture so I did a web search for Leica Elmar lenses. Leica Elmar lenses have a f4 maximum aperture and as such tend to be lighter and more compact in size. I found myself back on Ken Rockwell’s website and decided the lens that I wanted was the super compact Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 telephoto lens. With a 39mm filter thread and it only being only slightly longer than my 28mm Leica Elmarit-M lens the 90mm Macro-Elmar seemed the perfect travel companion. As you may have guessed I bought a Macro-Elmar 90f4 after finding a nice deal on a used lens.

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – size comparison

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – Test photos

When the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm lens arrived I did a few rough and ready test shots in the garden and around the house:

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – Wedding Photography

I then had the opportunity to test the Macro-Elmar 90mm in a real situation (for my usual style of photography (portraiture – models and weddings) prior to taking it on my second cycling / photography adventure. I packed the 90f4 Elmar for a bridal shoot / mock Leica wedding photography photoshoot and the results were fantastic even with the lens wide open at f4 and a 1/60 shutter speed. It gave really nice subject background separation for portraiture despite being a slow f4 maximum aperture lens. I will blog the wedding photography look images separately but here are a few 90mm examples from the day at Weston Hall Hotel:

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – Model Photography

I took the Macro-Elmar 90f4 on my repeat cycling trip to Fuertventura as planned and used the lens as originally intended, for Leica landscape photography. Again, I will blog my thoughts once the accompanying photos are ready to share. The photos were all shot on film and I still need to develop the film. Since Fuertventura I have used the 90mm lens on most of my photoshoots including when I was in Budapest over the Christmas break. Yes, blog to follow but here are a couple of Macro-Elmar 90mm samples from Hungary:

After Budapest and starting 2018, the Leica Macro-Elmar 90mm lens continues to be my new favourite lens which I seem to keep gravitating to. Here are some recent photos shot in the studio with the 90mm:

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – thoughts so far

As you may have sensed I have been extremely impressed with the Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 lens. The small size is perfect for my overseas trips yet I still reach for it in the studio too. It focuses closer than I think any of my other Leica M lenses in terms of magnification so I love it for tight headshots where I normally find I cannot get close enough. My next best lens for close up headshot photos is equally impressive but larger and heavier Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO lens.

To conclude, the Macro-Elmar-M 90mm is small, lightweight, close focusing (even without the Leica Macro adapter)(I don’t have) and super sharp wide open. If you don’t need a fast lens such as f1.4-f2 the Leica Macro-Elmar 90mm f4 lens is a real winner.. and seemingly hidden gem amongst the Leica lens line up. I have not noticed many other Leica photographers using this lens online or seen any rave reviews about it (other than Ken’s review linked below).

Leica Macro-Elmar-M 90mm f4 – Specifications

Rather than repeat the information readily available online please find a link to the Ken Rockwell’s 90mm Macro-Elmar-M review below including full lens spec.

Leica M Cameras – All I Need…?

Matthew Osborne Photography / Mr Leica

January 2017

Keeping it Interesting

After returning from my Budapest model photography trip earlier this week I have been trying to think what other cameras I can take on my next overseas photo shoot to try to produce more interesting or different looking images to my recent photos. I often shoot with a 35mm lens on my Leica M cameras whether the digital Leica M 240 or the Leica M film cameras. (I write ‘Leica M’ camera / lenses as the Leica R camera is an SLR camera system rather than a rangefinder camera so different ‘rules’ apply).

Alternative Film Cameras

I often complain that I can’t focus as close as I would like to for my model portrait photos so I was thinking of cameras that can get nearer than the 0.7m Leica rangefinder standard minimal focal distance. Other ways to create different photos to my usual view of the world might be to use a very shallow depth of field or perhaps use a longer lenses to get more compression in the photographs. (I have done all of these things before but less and less over the last 12-18 months).

I still love my Hasselblad 501C medium format film camera and in my mind it has captured some of my high quality film photos but it currently needs a little TLC so I don’t really want to take it overseas until it’s repaired. I then have various other very good cameras in their own right such as the Mamiya RZ67, Mamiya 6, Fuji GF670, Fuji GA645, Hasselblad Xpan, Nikon F4, Mamiya 645 but when doing a quick comparison they all have some drawback vs. the Leica M camera system. I then tried to think what each of these cameras offer compared to a Leica M camera setup and other than the film format (film size; 35mm vs. 645 vs. 6×6 vs. 6×7) the differences were minimal (in simplified terms*).

Different Lens Characteristics

I made a list of lens characteristics I see as positives from a camera/lens combination for my model photography and taste and then listed some potential Leica M mount lenses I use for each characteristic (non-scientific and my opinion only*)(I just listed the most obvious choice to me but many lenses could fit many lists*). I use these lenses on any of my Leica M film camera such as a Leica M2, M3, M4-P, M6 etc. (I state ‘film cameras’ as I want to compare Leica film to non-Leica film. I am not too interested in digital photography but as I use a Leica M 240 digital camera the same list applies to my digital work).

Leica M Mount Lenses

Shallow depth of field

Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 v2

Leica Summicron 90mm f2 Pre-ASPH

Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO

Wide angle lens

Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm f4.5

Zeiss Biogon 21mm f2.8

Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8

Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f2.8 ASPH

Close focus ability (for tight headshots)(visually not in mm*)

Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO

Leica Elmar 50mm f2.8 + SOOKY-M (close focus goggles)

Leica Summicron 50mm f2 DR (Dual Range) + close focus goggles

Leica Elmar 135mm f4

Sharpest image quality

Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO

Crisp contrasty modern look

Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5

Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO

Soft glow vintage look

Leica Elmar 50mm f2.8

Leica Summaron 35mm f3.5

Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5

Small compact lens size

Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5

Leica Summaron 35mm f3.5

Leica Elmar 50mm f2.8

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f1.4

Leica Summarit-M 50mm f2.5

Fast lens with wide aperture for low light

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f1.4

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.2 ASPH ii

Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH

Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0

Unique lens characteristics

Leica Summicron 90mm f2 Pre-ASPH

Leica Elmar 135mm f4

Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5

Leica Summaron 35mm f3.5

Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0

Compressed image style

Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO

Leica Summicron 90mm f2 Pre-ASPH

Leica Elmar 135mm f4

Low cost lens (In Leica M mount terms)

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f1.4

Industar 26M 52mm f2.8

Jupiter 3 50mm f1.5

Leica Elmar 135mm f4

Highest resolution images – Fine grain film stock

Ilford Pan F5o

Ilford Delta 100

Kodak Vision3 50D / Cinestill 50D

Image Resolution

For film cameras the equivalent of a high mega pixel digital sensor is fine grain films which play a huge part in the final look of a film photo no matter what lens is used. As an example here is a half frame film scan from a Olympus Pen-F SLR camera. Half frame means half the size of a normal 35mm Leica film negative.

As these photos are half the resolution of a Leica M camera photo (in terms of film negative size scanned) then with fine grain film and a sharp lens there is great potential to capture very detailed film photos without the need of a medium format camera.

Lomography.com – Petzval 85 Art

Matthew Osborne Photography/ @MrLeicaCom

September 2016

Petzval 85 Art Lens – Nikon F Mount

The lovely people at Lomography.com kindly got in touch and lent me their Nikon mount brass Petzval 85 Art lens to try. Below is a link describing how I got on and here are some example images with Sophie and Charlotte (also included in link). All photos taken with my old Nikon D800.

..I have to say, the Petzval 85 Art makes Nikon D800 photos interesting so it’s good! (I say that as I struggled to get excited with my Nikon D800 photos on the whole hence my move to film and Leicas).

Petzval 85 Art

Sophie

Charlotte

Lomography.com Magazine – MrLeica.com

Petzval 85 vs. Other Nikon Mount Fast Lenses

When using the Petzval 85 lens it reminded me of the overly soft photos captured from my Nikkor 50mm f1.2 Ai-s lens when shooting at f1.2. Here are a few examples as a comparison. I think the Petzval 85 is sharper wide open at f2.2 and has ‘better’ bokeh (meaning more character).

Nikkor 50mm f1.2 Ai-s

I then thought perhaps the Samyang 85mm f1.4 would be more comparable so here are a few samples. The Samyang 85 is pretty sharp wide open at f1.4 and a great lens but I think again the Petzval 85 lens bokeh has more character.

Samyang 85mm f1.4

Petzval 85 vs. Leica M Fast Lenses

Finally, as a Leica photographer it seems only right to include a few example photos with fast Leica lenses that are also soft(ish) focus shot wide open. The obvious lenses that spring to mind that I own are the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1 and Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5.

Leica ASPH & APO lenses. Do we really need them?

Matthew Osborne Photography

Model shoot using vintage Leica pre-ASPH/ pre-APO and third party lenses

For the September 2014 London Photography Workshop model shoot I decided to take the oppotunity to pack the follow vintage camera lenses for the day. I would be teaching flash photography and portraiture so I can do this with lenses from any era. It’s great to shoot with one lens on the camera all day but sometimes I just want to go longer or wider so I decided on –

Leica M9 camera body

35mm – 1953 Leica Summaron 35mm f3.5

52mm – 1950s Russian Industar 26M 52mm f2.8 *

90mm – 1973 Leica Summicron 90mm f2 pre-ASPH **

*I have a 1951 Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5 lenses but I prefer it in lower light.
** My 1960s Leica Elmar 135mm f4 is also a fantastic lens but I did’t want to carry two telephoto lenses.

Plus less vintage extras..

1x Speedlight

15mm Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar f4.5

Fuji GF670 Medium Format Film Camera

The workshop

Tom booked me for a day of 1-2-1 photography tuition and I invited Latvian model Lauma to join us as our model. I have shot with Lauma once before but last time it was with available light only. This time I was teaching off camera flash photography and portrait lighting so I was in my element. All photos were taken using a single bare speedlight without any light modifiers.

All a myth!

The workshop day proved two common photography theories wrong.

We don’t need the latest Leica lenses to get great pictures on a Leica M camera body

We don’t need fancy light modifiers and ETTL speedlights

Am I guilty of believing all the ‘hype’? Yes of course I am!

I own the Leica Summilux ASPH 50mm f1.4 (“Lux”) and the Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO (“Cron”). I bought the 50mm Lux as my first Leica 50mm lenses because of the glowing reviews but find I rarely use it as prefer other 50s. I bought the 75mm Cron because of the magnification it could produce focusing at 0.7m rather than anything else. The 75f2 focal length has become one of my favourite portrait lenses and my go to detail lens for Leica weddings.
I write ‘hype’ as yes both ASPH and APO lenses are technically brilliant but you dont ‘need’ them as such to get a nice image. I own both new and old Leica lenses but if I was someone trying to get into the Leica market I think potential buyers should not rule out the older glass.

Photos with vintage Leica M mount lenses

Here are some recent examples images using vintage lenses on a Leica M9 camera from flash photography portrait workshops both in London and at my Coventry studio. Models are Gina, Roisin and Lauma.

Why do a ‘need’ another Leica M mount lens for my Leica M cameras?
Without doubt my biggest frustration with the Leica M cameras is the rangefinder focus system only focusing as close as 0.7M. After coming from a Nikon D800 DSLR camera I was used to working very close to my subjects to either create a shallow depth of field and/ or to crop tight to improve my composition. I now have some nice Leica M lenses but I never seem to be able to get as close as I would like. I can get shallow DOF with lenses like the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 and Leica Summicron 90mm f2 but both these lenses only focus as close as 1M. My closest focusing lenses are the Leica Summilux ASPH 50mm f1.4 and Leica Summicron 50mm f2 both of which focus as 0.7M but that is still not near enough for say detail shots at a wedding.

Why is the 75mm focal length (“FL”) so unpopular?

The 75mm FL is one of the least popular focal lengths as it is too close to both a 50mm and a 90mm. In theory it would make sense to own a 35mm, 50mm, and 90mm say. I think that is how the majority of the population think anyway and at first glance that makes perfect sense. It does until you approach the same question differently..

What can the Summicron 75mm f2 APO lens give me that none of my other lenses can?

Firstly it gives me a brand new string in my Leica bow. What do I mean by this? I mean I can now do super sharp detail photos at a higher magnification than with any of my other Leica M lenses. That alone that fills a void in my Leica camera bag capabilities.

Can it do anything else to add value?

Yes. It gives me apparent image sharpness and resolution that is comparable with my 36MP Nikon D800 (I think). This means if I am doing freelance wedding photography with high end DSLR cameras the images from the M9 + Cron 75f2 now look more similar to a CMOS sensor than say the dreamy looking images from the Noctilux or older Cron 90f2. I love the latter look for my own wedding photography but when shooting for other photographers most people appreciate lens sharpness and clean crisp images.

Is the Leica Summicron 75mm f2 too clinical?

The term ‘clinical’ seems to be everywhere when you read up on this lens on the internet. It is said in a negative tense describing images from this lens as characterless. Yes it is crazy sharp, edge to edge, and even more so stoppped down and yes it has little or no vignetting (which I miss!) but that doesn’t mean it creates a bad image. How long does it take to add vignetting in post processing if desired? Seconds. If I want to use the Cron 75mm f2 lens in the studio for clean crisp images perhaps for a magazine it is better to have a lens that can give me this option. I love my Noctilux lens but shot wide open but it has heavy vignetting and famous Leica glow do not suit every occasion. (Yes I could stop down the Noctilux but have tended to use the Lux ASPH 50 to date for sharp studio images).

Is there a cheaper Leica M mount 75mm alternative?
Yes two popular and cheaper alternative 75mm lenses are the Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 Heliar Classic and the Leica Summarit 75mm f2.5. The Voigtlander Classic 75f1.8 offers fantastic value for money at around 1/5 of the price of the Summicron 75f2 APO. I own some Voigtlander lenses and some of them are real gems. I have no bias towards the Leica branded lenses. A second cheaper option at around half the cost of the Cron f2 is the smaller lighter and very slightly slower Summarit 75mm f2.5.

So why did I pay more to get the Summicron?

Simple answer. I only had interest in a 75mm as I wanted a longer lens to focus at 0.7M. Both the other 75mm lenses only focus as close as 0.9M. I would not buy a 75mm FL lens otherwise as have 50mm and 90mm lenses already.

First thoughts of the Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO?
Pleasantly surprised I think. There is not a huge amount of positive information attached to this lens but for the sole reason it focuses at 0.7M I thought I would get one to try. Leica equipment tends to hold it’s value well so I thought worst case I could just sell it again.

Thoughts:

Lens build quality – very similar to the Leica Summilux ASPH 50mm f1.4 just slightly biggerLens Size – Around the same bulk and weight as my Noctilux and has a 49mm filter threadLens contrast – less contrasty that Zeiss ZM T* lenses such as the Sonnar and PlanarApparent sharpness – Sharp wide open. Not as harsh as expected for female portraitsBokeh – Pleasing round bokeh balls shot wide openResolution – I think it is now my sharpest lens. Zeiss lenses tend to appear sharp due to the higher micro contrast. The Cron 75 is more like the Lux ASPH or newer Noctilux 50mm f0.95. (Yes I was not keen on the Nocti f0.95 for looking too modern but for close up detail shots I see the ‘clinical’ sharpness of the Summicron 75 f2 as a positive).
Potential uses for this lens for my style of photography?
> Studio portraiture needing maximum resolution
> Tighter crop portraits (head shots)
> Street photography at a comfortable distance
> Detail photos for Leica wedding photography
> Product photography
> Macro photography with my Raynox 250 macro lens attached

Example images using the Leica Summicron 75mm f2 APO:
(Photos have been edited so not a great use to see the SOOC look from this lens, sorry)

I will as always be sharing new images to my Flickr stream as I take them. I am interested to try the 75mm f2 Cron on my Leica M2 to see how it looks with film loaded! 🙂

Despite owning all those mentioned lenses the dream lives on. Today I decided to make that dream come true and reinvest some savings that had matured into Leica glass rather than a low interest deposit account. No price can be placed on the enjoyment I get from my photography and as Leica lenses retain their value well I see it more as an investment than an expense.

Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 vs. Leica Noctilux 50mm f0.95 – Price
The fastest Leica lens and in current production is the latest Leica Noctilux 50mm f0.95ASPH that was released in 2008. (Canon actually made the first 50mm f0.95 lens years earlier) Here in the UK the retail price to buy a new Noctilux 50/0.95 is in excess of £7.2k. Used Noctilux lenses hold their value well but this is more than double the cost of a used Noctilux 50mm f1.0. Most of the Leica shooters that I know use a f0.95 not the older f1.0 but I was not in a position to spend that kind of money on one lens.

Was I tempted by the newer sharper faster Noctilux f0.95?
Initially of course yes. I do like my apparent lens sharpness combined with a shallow DOF however my taste seems to be changing as my photography matures. I own the famous ‘Lux ASPH 50mm f1.4 and it does indeed have edge to edge clinical sharpness at f1.4. That said, it is not my first or even second choice when selecting a 50mm lens to use for my portraiture photography. Until recently I favoured the Zeiss ZM Sonnar 50mm f1.5 for a combination of sharp, contrasty, punchy images with a nicely rendered OOF area/ bokeh. I then bought a 1954 Leica Summarit 50mm f1.5. That has changed everything. It is soft, low contrast and prone to flare yet I absolutely love its quirks and the vintage imperfect look it applies to images.

Sample image using the Summarit 50/1.5 @f1.5 on my Leica M9

Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 vs. Leica Noctilux 50mm f0.95 – Images
If I compare photos taken with the older Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 vs the current Leica Noctilux 50mm f0.95 I would say it is like comparing the 1954 Summarit 50/1.5 vs the current Leica Lux ASPH 50/1.4. Many people say photos taken with the Noct. f0.95 are not dissimilar from those taken with the Lux 50 ASPH. Both these lenses give clinical sharpness. The older Noct f1.0 however has real character and ‘proper’ imperfections that you just cannot make or add to an image after in Photoshop. A particular favourite characteristic is the misshaped bokeh balls of the f1.0 that are more akin to bokeh of the Summarit 50 lens. I think the f1.0 images capture many of the best bits seen in the Summarit 50 photos yet 10 fold.

Painting with my camera not etching with micro precision
The vintage Summarit really is a fantastic lens if used correctly but I feel I will be able to get even more out of the Leica Noctilux 50 f1 lens. I like to ‘paint’ things of beauty with the majority of my photography regardless of the subject. Having a lens that appears to paint on the detail with a big fat brush rather than etch in the finer details with micro precision is exactly why I chose the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 over the 50mm f0.95.

I have not even received my lens yet but this is my conclusion to date drawn from the research I did prior to my purchase. Most of the reviews I had read for the Summarit 50 were terrible but it turns out the lens is a real gem. I hope to prove that the older Nocti f1.0 is more than a match for its newer sibling for some types of photography.

More about the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 v2
I bought the v2 model that has an E60 thread and removable Leica hood. Many people praise the v4 as being the most sought after of all 5 models released. The v4 has built in slide out hood but the v2 is lighter and often cheaper than the v4. I like using flare in my photography so there is a very high chance that I will not fit the lens hood. I will just protect the end of the lens with a ND filter or UV filter. Lens hoods often make lenses much more imposing so I currently do not use any add on lens hoods on my LM mount lenses.

I bought my 1981-82s Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 v2 lens from Italy via eBay so I must now wait patiently before I get to try the lens and share some sample images with you. The Noctilux lens is the now the most expensive item in my photography bag but I see it as a long term investment rather than a luxury expense. It may seem that I buy new camera gear almost every week and sometimes this is true but I buy almost all second hand and I spend little to nothing on anything other than photography! I get paid working as a Leica wedding photographer, fashion and beauty photographer and for running photography and lighting workshops from my Coventry studio and on location. Any money I receive from my photography is reinvested 100% back into my passion.

I am excited for the arrival of my Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.0 and I will of course report back soon once it arrives.